Badger Extermination - Pest Control Badgers
Badgers are found primarily in the Great Plains region of North America. Badgers occur north through the central western Canadian provinces, in appropriate habitat throughout the western United States, and south throughout the mountainous areas of Mexico. They have expanded their range since the turn of the 20th century and are now found as far east as Ontario, Canada
Badgers prefer to live in dry, open grasslands, fields, and pastures. They are found from high alpine meadows to sea level.
Badgers measure 520 to 875 mm from head to tail, with the tail making up only 100 to 155 mm of this length. Badgers weigh 4 to 12 kg. The body is flattened, and the legs are short and stocky. The face of the badger is distinct. The throat and chin are whitish, and the face has black patches. A white dorsal stripe extends back over the head from the nose. In northern populations, this stripe ends near the shoulders. In southern populations, however, it continues over the back to the rump. Males are significantly larger than females and animals from northern populations are larger than those from southern populations.
The home ranges of both male and female badgers expands during the breeding season, indicating that males and females travel more extensively to find mates. Males have larger home ranges that are likely to overlap with the home ranges of several females
Mating occurs in late summer or early autumn. Litters of 1 to 5 offspring, with an average of 3, are born in early spring. Females are able to mate when they are 4 months old, but males do not mate until the autumn of their second year. Most females mate after their first year
Badgers are solitary animals. Typical population density is about 5 animals per square kilometer. Badgers are mainly active at night, and tend to be inactive during the winter months. They are not true hibernators, but spend much of the winter in cycles of torpor that usually last about 29 hours. During torpor body temperatures fall to about 9 degrees Celsius and the heart beats at about half the normal rate. They emerge from their dens on warm days in the winter.
Badgers are excellent digging machines. Their powerfully built forelimbs allow them to tunnel rapidly through the soil, and apparently through other harder substances as well. There are anecdotal accounts of badgers emerging from holes they have excavated through blacktopped pavement and two inch thick concrete.
Their burrows are constructed mainly in the pursuit of prey, but they are also used for sleeping. A typical badger den may be as far as 3 meters below the surface, contain about 10 meters of tunnels, and have an enlarged chamber for sleeping. Badgers use multiple burrows within their home range, and they may not use the same burrow more than once a month. In the summer months they may dig a new burrow each day.
Rodenator Pest Control Methods for Badgers
Observe the badger burrow to see if it is an active burrow, or an old abandoned tunnel. If it is an active tunnel and you can see that it is a deep tunnel, inject 90 seconds of fuel mix into the tunnel system and ignite. Many of the badger tunnels are a one way tunnel without a connecting exit allowing the blast to exit. Without an exit tunnel you can expect that when the gasses are ignited the sound as well as the concussion at the opening of the tunnel will be very strong. If you are an R1 user expect to feel more of the concussive force on your back side than if you are working on ground squirrels or pocket gophers. Stand off to the side of the tunnel before igniting the gasses allowing the blast to go past you.
Caution, if you are using the Rodenator R2 or R3, attach the 3 foot flexible extension hose to the end of the Rodenator during use on badgers. Using the extension hose will allow you to inject the gas while keeping the Rodenator out of the tunnel entrance. Do not put the Rodenator R2 or R3 in the tunnel system when you ignite the gasses, keep it outside the tunnel entrance avoiding the blunt of the blast.